Chapter 23

The force from the fall had been enough to break Sara free of the ropes that bound her to the chair. She looked up to see Mark re-aiming his gun in her direction. She jumped up ready to defend herself when sirens filled the air.

She saw the panic on Mark's face and smirked "Looks like you have a choice to make. Shoot me and get caught or, get outta here before the police come breaking down the door."

Mark looked around nervously measuring his odds.

"Don't think this over yet Sara." he said, dropping his gun and running out the door.

"Whatever." Sara smiled; they had survived the impossible once again. Now she and Michael... wait! Where was Michael?

Sara turned around to see his body lying on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding him.

"Michael!" she yelled running over to him.

Apparently when he had knocked her out of the way it sent the bullet flying straight into his chest.

Her hands roamed his body trying to find where exactly the bullet had hit him. She looked up to see his eyes drifting close. He was losing consciousness fast.

"Michael, Michael!" she said patting his cheeks "I need you to stay with me. Okay, you're going to be fine, I promise."

She ripped his shirt open, her eyes frantically scanning his chest. The amount of blood made it virtually impossible to see anything.

'Oh God' she thought to herself. It was all happening so fast she didn't know what to do. She tried to snap into doctor mode and focus but all she could think about was the fact that Michael was dying and there was nothing she could do to help him.

"Sara." his voice brought her crashing back to reality.

Her head snapped up to see him staring at her.

"Sara, I...I want you to know..."

"No! Don't do that to me Michael, don't give up. You have to hold on just a little bit longer, okay? Help is on the way."

She focused back on his chest. The sound of his voice had been enough to calm her down and help her focus.

Her eyes once again scanned his chest, this time quickly locating the bullet hole just above his heart. She took his shirt and quickly put it over the gaping hole, the once white shirt now completely red.

"Michael, I found it! I found..." she looked up to see that his eyes were now fully closed and he was barely breathing.

She heard yelling outside the house signaling the arrival of the police.

"Somebody help!" she screamed as the EMT's rushed in and over to Michael's body.

"What happened?" they asked setting up their equipment.

"He was shot in the chest." she answered quickly.

The EMT bent down to check his pulse.

"He's barely got a pulse. We need to get him out of here now!"

They carefully lifted him onto the stretcher and wheeled him outside. As they were putting him in the ambulance Sara looked over to see an officer putting a handcuffed Mark into the back of a police cruiser.

"Are you coming or not?" the EMT asked.

She nodded in response and climbed into the ambulance beside Michael. She clutched his hand firmly in hers as they raced through the streets.

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Sara nervously paced the square footage of the small waiting room. Michael had been in surgery for nearly 2 hours now and she had yet to hear any news on his condition.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a someone yelling down the hall.

"Will someone just tell me what is going on with my brother?!" the voice boomed from down the hall.

"Sir, please calm down..." a nurse asked from behind the desk.

"Don't tell me to calm down. My brother could be in there dying right now, and you want me to calm down?"

"Lincoln?" Sara asked stepping up to them.

"Sara? What are you doing here? Where's Michael? I come home from work and the police are there telling me that Michael was shot."

"He's in surgery right now; he should be out pretty soon. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Why do you care? Don't you have a fiancée or something to get home to?" He asked bitterly.

Sara looked down the guilt consuming her.

"Do you have any idea the hell you put him through? He hasn't been the same since he's been back."

"Lincoln, I'm really sorry for what I did to him. But the truth is I love your brother. And right now I'm scared to death because I honestly don't know if he's gonna make it, and I don't think I can take losing him again." she said, her voice breaking as the tears spilled down her cheeks.

Lincoln's face softened at this. He knew she wasn't lying. He stepped closer wrapping his arms around her in a comforting embrace.

Just then the doctor came through the doors still adjourned in his scrubs.

"Any news on Michael?" Sara asked as he approached them.

"Are you family?" he asked coming to a stop in front of them.

"I'm his brother." Lincoln piped in.

"Well we were able to remove the bullet and I stitched him up the best I could."

"But..." Lincoln prodded impatiently.

"But...the bullet hit a major artery and managed to knick one of his lungs in the process." the doctor explained.

"Is he gonna be okay?"

"It depends. I've managed to stabilize him, but it's up to him now. Either he fights and lives or he gives up and dies."